Hepatitis B vaccination provides long-term protection through 30 years for a majority of recipients, and more than 90% were protected with either initial immunization or a booster, according to a presentation at the 64th AASLD Liver Meeting last week in Washington, DC.

Taking tenofovir (Viread) during the final months of pregnancy may provide extra protection against perinatal transmission of hepatitis B virus (HBV), along with immunization of the infant, according to a late-breaker presentation the Second IDWeek conference last week in San Francisco.

Adolescents who received combined active-passive hepatitis B virus (HBV) immunization soon after birth may lose "immunological memory" that protects them from future infection, with the HBeAg status of the mother playing a key role, researchers reported in the January 2013 issue of Hepatology.

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has declined to approve Dynavax Technologies' experimental hepatitis B virus (HBV) vaccine candidate with a toll-like receptor 9 adjuvant, stating it wants to see further data on safety in adults including seniors, the company announced this week.

A U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) committee last month concurred that Dynavax's investigational hepatitis B virus (HBV) vaccine Heplisav was effective in preventing infection, but a majority thought there was not enough data to show whether the vaccine is safe.

Adults in Kenya responded as well overall to hepatitis B vaccination as people in high-income countries. People with HIV had poorer response, but this could be mostly overcome with repeated doses, according to a study described in the February 1, 2013, Journal of Infectious Diseases.

Nearly all children who received 3 doses of the Engerix-B hepatitis B vaccine achieved protective immunity, but about 20% fell below the protective antibody threshold by year 15 and could benefit from a booster shot, Canadian researchers reported at the 52nd Interscience Conference on Antimicrobial Agents and Chemotherapy (ICAAC 2012) this week in San Francisco.